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Johnnie St. Vrain: Do we 'need' the moisture? Compared with average, yes

By Johnnie St. Vrain

Posted:
07/30/2013 08:28:46 PM MDT

Updated:
07/30/2013 08:31:34 PM MDT

Longmont temperatures, precipitation

Johnnie: After a heavy snow or day of rain I often hear someone remark that we need the moisture, leading me to wonder just how much precipitation we actually need.

I have the feeling that some residents do not realize that we live in a semi-arid climate and therefore ought not to expect us to receive as much moisture as, say, in the Midwest. So the real question would seem to be how much moisture should we realistically expect to receive in our area? -- Jerry

"The reader is correct in pointing out that Longmont's climate is considered 'semi-arid,'" he replied, via email. "The city's latest 30-year normal for annual precipitation is only 14.24 inches (see table). By contrast, most Midwestern U.S. cities are in the 35- to 45-inch range for annual precipitation."

Larison said that climatologists classify annual precipitation in the range of 10 to 20 inches as semi-arid; below 10 inches as arid or desert.

So are we getting wetter or drier?

"There has been a dry trend for Longmont in the new millennium as only three of 13 years since 2000 have had above-normal precipitation," he replied. "Precipitation so far this year has totaled 6.77 inches, or about 21/2 inches below normal to date."

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So, Jerry, this week's wet weather notwithstanding, it turns out that we do need the moisture, at least as far as historical averages go.

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